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Links within two supercontinents

Science Daily - Tue, 04/12/2016 - 08:13
A new article has apparently solved an age-old riddle of how constituent continents were arranged in two Precambrian supercontinents -- then known as Nuna-Columbia and Rodinia. It's a finding that may have future economic implications for mining companies.

When life returned after a volcanic mass extinction

Science Daily - Fri, 04/08/2016 - 10:24
A new study used fossils and mercury isotopes from volcanic gas deposited in ancient proto-Pacific Ocean sediment deposits in Nevada to determine when life recovered following the end-Triassic mass extinction 201.5 million years ago.

Climate models underestimate global warming by exaggerating cloud brightening

Science Daily - Thu, 04/07/2016 - 21:14
Researchers have found that climate models are aggressively making clouds 'brighter' as the planet warms. This may be causing models to underestimate how much global warming will occur due to increasing carbon dioxide.

Six to 10 million years ago: Ice-free summers at the North Pole

Science Daily - Thu, 04/07/2016 - 14:06
A new window has been opened into the climate history of the Arctic Ocean. Using unique sediment samples from the Lomonosov Ridge, the researchers found that six to 10 million years ago the central Arctic was completely ice-free during summer and sea-surface temperature reached values of 4 to 9 degrees Celsius.

New cloud measurements are predicting a warmer climate

Science Daily - Thu, 04/07/2016 - 14:03
Models that aim to predict human-induced global average temperature rise have been underestimating important contributions from clouds, causing projections to be lower than what actually might occur, at least in some simulations, a new study suggests.

Summer melt-driven streams on Greenland's ice sheet brought into focus

Science Daily - Tue, 04/05/2016 - 15:11
Erosion by melt-driven streams during summers on Greenland's ice sheet during shapes landscapes similarly to, but much faster than, rivers do on land, says a geologist. The methods used to study the ice sheet should help scientists better understand melt rates and improve projections about glacial response to climate change.

Plant gases can counteract Arctic climate change

Science Daily - Tue, 04/05/2016 - 10:04
Plant gasses possibly dampen the temperature rise in Greenland. Plants emit compounds to deter pests or attract pollinators, and as a side effect particles are formed when the compounds interact in the air. These particles can contribute to the formation of clouds, which reflect incoming solar radiation, and thus prevent solar heat from reaching the ground and warming it additionally.

North Atlantic played pivotal role in last great climate tipping point

Science Daily - Mon, 04/04/2016 - 12:42
An international research team has discovered ground-breaking new reasons why large continental ice-sheets first grew in North America and Scandinavia during the late Pliocene Epoch era, 2.7 millions of years ago.

Earth's internal heat drives rapid ice flow, subglacial melting in Greenland

Science Daily - Mon, 04/04/2016 - 10:16
The North Atlantic Ocean is an area of active plate tectonics. Between 80 and 35 million years ago tectonic processes moved Greenland over an area of abnormally hot mantle material that still today is responsible for the volcanic activity of Iceland. The mantle material heated and thinned Greenland at depth producing a strong geothermal anomaly that spans a quarter of the land area of Greenland. That distant history of the North Atlantic region contributes to the present-day ice loss, suggests a new report.

New cause of exceptional Greenland melt revealed

Science Daily - Fri, 04/01/2016 - 12:08
The energy associated with air temperature and moisture content, rather than radiant energy from the sun, was responsible for more melt during the 2012 exceptional melt episodes on the Greenland Ice Sheet, new research indicates. Using the PROMICE automatic weather station data, they found climate models underestimate the impact of exceptionally warm weather episodes on the ice sheet.

Ice Age Antarctic Ocean gives clue to 'missing' atmospheric carbon dioxide

Science Daily - Fri, 04/01/2016 - 09:18
Scientists have explored the question of carbon dioxide storage in the oceans. The team glimpsed into the ocean's past, thanks to a group of tiny ocean dwellers called foraminifera.

Cold front: Researchers explore Arctic land and sea at Navy ICEX

Science Daily - Thu, 03/31/2016 - 08:02
As the Navy's Ice Exercise 2016 winds to a close this week in the frigid waters of the Arctic Ocean, officials at the Office of Naval Research today reported new scientific research that took place during the event that will enhance our understanding of, and ability to safely operate in, Arctic maritime environments.

Freezing plants to predict the fate of the Arctic

Science Daily - Thu, 03/31/2016 - 07:26
Global warming means much warmer winters in the Arctic, with more rain and icing. Researchers are working to understand what that will do to plants that have evolved to overwinter under a thick blanket of snow.

Sea-level rise could nearly double over earlier estimates in next 100 years

Science Daily - Wed, 03/30/2016 - 12:08
A new study from climate scientists suggests that the most recent estimates by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change for future sea-level rise over the next 100 years could be too low by almost a factor of two.

Palaeosol loess shed light on early Pleistocene climate in western arid central Asia

Science Daily - Wed, 03/30/2016 - 11:26
The transition from shallow marine sediments to loess deposits at ~2.4 Ma in the northeastern Iranian Golestan Province documents a dramatic change in the early Pleistocene from a region with a humid, marine-influenced climate to a semi-arid climate.

Unravelling a geological mystery using lasers from space

Science Daily - Tue, 03/29/2016 - 10:28
Drumlins and megaridges are all part of a single family of landforms formed by erosion, new research concludes. Shaped like an upturned boat, drumlin hills are found clustered together in their hundreds and thousands in distinct fields called swarms. They are the most common landform across large areas of northern North America and Europe, marking the footprint of great sheets that formed during past ice ages.

2016 Arctic sea ice wintertime extent hits another record low

Science Daily - Mon, 03/28/2016 - 18:51
Arctic sea ice appears to have reached a record low wintertime maximum extent for the second year in a row, according to scientists.

Climate change: Greenland melting tied to shrinking Arctic sea ice

Science Daily - Mon, 03/28/2016 - 07:49
Vanishing Arctic sea ice. Dogged weather systems over Greenland. Far-flung surface ice melting on the massive island. These dramatic trends and global sea-level rise are linked, according to a new study.

Ancient bones point to shifting grassland species as climate changes

Science Daily - Fri, 03/25/2016 - 14:17
More rainfall during the growing season may have led to one of the most significant changes in Earth's vegetation in the distant past, and similar climate changes could affect the distribution of plants in the future as well, a new study suggests.

Unaccounted for Arctic microbes appear to be speeding up glacier melting

Science Daily - Wed, 03/23/2016 - 07:22
Scientists have discovered that Arctic microbes are increasing the rate at which glaciers melt, in a process not accounted for in current climate change models. Working on an icecap in Svalbard, in the far north of Norway, the team showed that this process is driven by a single species of photosynthetic bacteria, from the genus Phormidesmis.

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